Funded PhD position: turbulence and wind loading,

A funded PhD position is open at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (Civil and Environmental Engineering, Troy NY) on a new NSF project advancing Partial Turbulence Simulation, a wind tunnel method for testing building envelopes, exterior attachments and other small building systems. These demand large, detailed models that break kinematic similarity of the flow, so practice falls back on simplified product tests. PTS reconciles the competing scaling requirements by partitioning the turbulence spectrum. The project validates the method and supplies guidance for applying it. Experiments are at the University of Florida NHERI boundary layer wind tunnel, combining surface-pressure and point-velocity measurements with planar time-resolved stereo PIV. The facility is highly automated and the UF team leads the campaign, so the doctoral work is analysis led. We seek a strong foundation in applied fluid mechanics and an interest in turbulence and separated flow, with scientific computing in Python or MATLAB applied to large time-resolved datasets. Experimental and prior wind engineering experience are valuable but not required. The student is paid a stipend and does not pay tuition, equally for international applicants. Co-advised by Prof. Chris Letchford. Spring 2027 start preferred, Fall 2027 open to strong candidates. Apply: https://forms.cloud.microsoft/r/Pz2yhjnZc0 Award: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/show-award?AWD_ID=2529208 Contact: Daniel Lander, landed2@rpi.edu